Originally from Valais, the Swiss Arya Udry is associate professor in planetology and martian geology at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. At 33, she is one of the researchers who will work alongside NASA on the Perseverance rover , which is due to land on the Red Planet this Thursday, February 18 at 9:55 p.m. Swiss time. This enthusiast explains to Heidi.news the hopes that the mission represents for her scientific field, Martian geology. To find in video (above), and in long version in the text below.

NASA’s rover Perseverance on Thursday neared its encounter with Mars, hewing to a trajectory that will plunge it into the atmosphere of the Red Planet to begin a sequence of maneuvers designed to avoid surface hazards and deposit the rover inside a crater that may hold remnants of ancient life. NASA anticipates the spacecraft will enter the atmosphere about 3:48 p.m. and deploy a parachute four minutes later. Touchdown is expected about 3:55 p.m.

Rough terrain will require spacecraft to use autonomous navigation system to avoid hazards

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) announced a $25 million grant to a University of California, Berkeley-led consortium of 11 universities for research and development (R&D) in nuclear science, engineering, and security. This long-term investment will support the consortium at $5 million per year for five years. The grant, awarded for the third time to a Berkeley-led consortium, followed the announcement of a funding opportunity issued in April 2020.

Las Vegas has its share of celebrities, including one who works at the UNLV Physics Department.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a University of Nevada, Las Vegas lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a UNLV lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a University of Nevada, Las Vegas lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Jason Steffen studies planets in other solar systems. His most famous work—OK, second-most famous work—was with NASA’s Kepler Mission, a survey of planetary systems. But you’re more likely to have heard of Steffen, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, in a very different context: as a student of the airplane boarding process. Years ago, after waiting in yet another line on a jam-packed jetway, the physicist thought to himself, “There has to be a better way than this.”

Jason Steffen studies planets in other solar systems. His most famous work—OK, second-most famous work—was with NASA’s Kepler Mission, a survey of planetary systems. But you’re more likely to have heard of Steffen, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, in a very different context: as a student of the airplane boarding process. Years ago, after waiting in yet another line on a jam-packed jetway, the physicist thought to himself, “There has to be a better way than this.”

A person can survive 30 days (or more) without food, 3 days without water, and 3 minutes without air. The latest climate research indicates all three will be in short supply as average temperatures on Earth increase. Hotter, drier conditions will reduce harvests, constrain water supplies, and make it more difficult to breathe. Great thinkers like Rex Tillerson say we will adapt, but he and his climate change denier friends fail to appreciate what that adaptation will involve.

When Arya Udry was a little girl, she would stare at the sky and ponder the possibility of life beyond Earth.